Star Wars and the Power of Costume

"I saw this Jedi costume, and I was so ecstatic I ran out of breath. At last I had an idea of who I was, how to carry myself, and I had a way of being."
Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu)

I was ten when Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope arrived in theaters. Of course, back then it was just called Star Wars. :-)  Since we were living in Korea at the time, I didn’t get to see the movie until we returned to the States for furlough in the summer of 1978. By then, our cousins had already watched it 12 times! Now forty years later, the Smithsonian Institution has brought Star Wars and the Power of Costume to the Museum of Fine Arts in St Petersburg. More than just a display of costumes and props, the exhibition explores the creative process of costume design. How did the directors and designers show the history and culture of a new universe through costumes? How did the costumes help the actors connect with their characters? How did the costumes visually portray the roles and natures of the characters – good or evil, princess, soldier, outlaw or politician? In Star Wars and the Power of Costume, these questions are answered using over 60 costumes from the first seven movies, as well as concept art and quotes from the designers and actors.

Royalty and the Senate

The exhibit opened into a small room with just two costumes – Queen Padmé Amidala’s throne room gown from The Phantom Menace and the Jedi robes of Obi Wan Kenobi from A New Hope. On the wall were quotes from George Lucas explaining that in the first movies, he wanted his costumes to be simple but timeless, but for the opulent civilization in the prequels, a different approach was needed. (I suspect that Lucas also had a much bigger budget for the later films.) This theme continues into the next two galleries – Royalty and The Galactic Senate. You can see the contrast between Queen Amidala’s lavish dresses and Princess Leia’s surprisingly modest costume. Leia’s white gown with a high collar was meant to show purity and humility. Seeing it in person, it almost reminded me of a nun’s habit. Well, except that according to Carrie Fisher’s memoir Wishful Drinking, Lucas didn’t allow her to wear a bra underneath her dress. He said there was no underwear in space because of the weightlessness. What?? I wonder if that dubious piece of science only applied to Leia or if the Jedi knights went commando under their robes. Hmm…

Like the queen’s gowns, the senators’ costumes had rich details and fabrics that looked like they could have been worn in Roman or Elizabethan times. This was a society that had grown fat and corrupt, before the darkness fell. The Senate section included several of Palpatine’s costumes, showing his decline from senator to chancellor and finally to evil Sith lord Darth Sidious with blood-red, velvet robes.

Queen Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi

concept art

the Galactic Senate

Senator Amidala

Mas Amedda

Military Symbolism

George Lucas used strong visual cues for the costumes in this section of the exhibit. To represent fascism and brutality, he modeled the uniforms of the Imperial officers after Nazi uniforms. The orange jumpsuits of the X-wing pilots, on the other hand, were inspired by the Mercury 7 astronauts. The costumes told audiences immediately who was villain and who was hero. In this room, a First Order stormtrooper stood next to an Imperial stormtrooper. The Imperial stormtrooper costume was in rough condition. Only 50 of these costumes were made for A New Hope and they were reused in The Empire Strikes Back so not many of them survived. Between the original movies and the prequels, the design for the stormtrooper uniforms changed slightly, becoming more streamlined.

TIE fighters and Imperial officer

X-wing pilots and Naboo security officer

First Order stormtrooper and Imperial stormtrooper

Jedi versus Sith

Jedi knights and Sith were the most active characters so they needed costumes that draped and flared as they moved. Although the Jedi tunics looked like they were made from rough burlap, they were actually raw silk. I loved seeing all the details on young Anakin Skywalker’s costume – it was so small. Next to young Anakin were Luke’s robes from Return of the Jedi. While most of the Jedi costumes were in pale, earthy tones, Lucas used a darker color for Luke’s robes to foreshadow his relationship to Darth Vader. When Mark Hamill picked up on this and mentioned that his costume looked “Vader-ish”, Lucas replied, “It’s supposed to be.”

Darth Maul

Outlaws and Outsiders

The Outlaws and Outsiders gallery began with the cowboy-inspired costume of Han Solo and his loyal companion Chewbacca. Chewbacca’s costume was made with 15 pounds of yak fur. Can you imagine how hot that must have been? Fortunately, the designers developed a cooling system for the Wookies in the later films.

Tusken raiders

Mannequins wearing the costumes of bounty hunters Boba and Jango Fett stood back-to-back. While Boba’s costume was deliberately designed to look battered, showing his long and hard-fought career, Jango’s costume was still new and shiny. Jeremy Bullock, the actor who played Boba Fett said he felt "quite dangerous" when he put on his costume.

Boba Fett

Boba Fett's battered helmet with kill marks

Jango Fett

The Outlaws and Outsiders display also held the costumes for Rey and Finn from The Force Awakens. There wasn’t a lot of information about them but here you could see the return to a simpler age where the characters were just trying to survive. Rey’s costume was made from strips of gauze to allow for movement while protecting her from the harsh Jakku sun. One detail I’d never noticed is that Rey’s goggles incorporated the scavenged lenses from a stormtrooper’s mask. Pretty neat.

Of course, the costume exhibition wouldn’t have been complete without Princess Leia’s slave bikini outfit. That costume always made me feel uncomfortable. Apparently, Carrie Fisher felt the same way because she called it “the bikini from hell”. But Fisher managed to get the last word. In response to criticism about the slave Leia action figure toy, she told the Wall Street Journal, “The father who flipped out about it, 'What am I going to tell my kid about why she's in that outfit?' Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn't like it. And then I took it off. Backstage." You go, Rebel Princess!

Princess Leia's bounty hunter disguise and slave bikini

At least she got to wear some awesome boots

Droid Design

The droids, R2-D2, C-3PO and BB-8, are arguably the most popular characters in the Star Wars series. They provide comedy and lightheartedness to what could otherwise be a pretty depressing universe. But Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO is all eight of the films, originally did not want the part. In this gallery, Daniels explains that it wasn’t until he saw a concept sketch for his costume that he accepted the role.

BB-8, C-3PO and R2-D2

Darth Vader and Yoda

If you’ve ever tried to take a picture of a black cat, you’ll understand the difficulties of filming Darth Vader. The original costume was all black but when the details didn’t show up in the footage, it was modified to add dark gray panels. The costume shown in the exhibition is the one worn by Hayden Christensen in Revenge of the Sith and not David Prowse’s costume from the first movies, but it still makes an imposing sight. The gallery also included an interesting description of the 12-step process for putting on the Vader costume.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

Padme’s Journey

The last section, a gallery of Padmé Amidala’s costumes, was my favorite. What can I say – I’m a girl. Lightsabers are cool, but pretty dresses…ooooo. :-)  Unlike Leia and Rey, who basically wore the same outfit for an entire movie, Padmé had different clothes for almost every scene. Most of the costumes in this room were soft, flowing and feminine but there were a couple of action outfits, like the white suit (complete with the torn midriff) from the execution arena scene in Attack of the Clones. My favorite part of this scene is when Obi Wan tells Anakin to focus and concentrate and Anakin asks, “What about Padmé?” Obi Wan replies “She seems to be on top of things” while behind them, Padmé has escaped from her handcuffs and is climbing to the top of a pole. The detailing on Padmé’s costumes was incredible, and it was hard to imagine that so much work went into something that would only appear on screen for a few minutes. Costume designer Tricia Biggar even stayed up all night before the wedding scene was filmed to sew pearls onto Padmé’s wedding dress.

meadow picnic dress

ombre lake retreat dress

Geonosis arena costume

the most impractical nightgown in the Galaxy

It took us a little over an hour to explore the exhibit. An audio player with additional background information was provided with the ticket, but I quickly abandoned mine so I could just enjoy seeing and photographing the displays. A few of the costumes were in glass cases, but most of them were out in the open, just an arm’s length away. It was amazing to be so close to all the original movie pieces. I had to keep reminding myself as I walked through the museum that these were the real things, some of them forty years old, worn by Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman, Daisy Ridley and Alec Guinness. Now I can’t wait for The Last Jedi to be released on Blu-Ray next month so I can check out all the new costumes!


Travel Tips: The exhibition runs through April 1 and tickets cost $25 for adults, $18 for children aged 7-17. Be sure not to miss the final gallery, Padmé’s Journey, which is in a separate part of the museum. There is metered street parking or you can park in the Sundial parking garage, a short walk away.